For this special concert, the Vltava river in Prague turned into a unique concert venue. Floating stages were built especially for this concert. To celebrate Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Czech Philharmonic perform some of the most iconic pieces of Czech classical music. The concert opens with the anthem of the European Union, Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy”, and is completed by Smetana’s Vltava (The Moldau), Dvorák’s Carnival Overture and – as the main piece of the evening – Janácek’s monumental Glagolitic Mass, one of the most powerful sacred compositions ever. It is the perfect piece to celebrate Europe: “the ancient classical meets the spontaneously avant-garde in a special and optimal way.” (Lidové noviny) PROGRAM: Beethoven: ”Ode to Joy” Finale of Symphony No. 9, Op. 125; Dvorák: Carnival overture op. 92; Smetana: Vltava, a symphonic poem from the cycle ‘My Country.’ Janácek: Glagolitic Mass
Grafenegg: Midsummer Night’s Gala 2024
Ringing in the summer festival season every year, the Midsummer Night’s Gala is the Grafenegg Festival’s flagship event bringing internationally renowned performers to the Wolkenturm stage. This edition features Swiss soprano Regula Mühlemann and Samoan tenor Pene Pati, ” two wonderfully radiant voices” (k.at), and accordion player Martynas Levickis. Conductor Marta Gardolinska and the Tonkunstler-Orchestra present highlights from Smetana’s Bartered Bride, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Verdi’s Macbeth as well as traditional Lithuanian and Maori folk songs. Martynas Levickis highlighted new and exciting facets of old audience favourite with his accordion arrangement of Bizet’s Carmen Suite. A worthy start to the festival summer!
Springtime in Vienna 2023
For more than 40 years, “Springtime in Vienna”, the TV Easter Concert of the Wiener Symphoniker, has been a major highlight of Vienna’s musical calendar. Featuring the world’s most in demand soloists, the Wiener Symphoniker celebrate the upcoming spring with a colorful bouquet of lively melodies. This edition features Swiss soprano Regula Mühlemann. Within just a few years, she has established herself as one of the leading sopranos of her generation being acclaimed by audiences and critics alike for her exceptionally beautiful timbre and sensitive performances, most recently “outstanding as a radiant Pamina” (The Telegraph) at the Salzburg Festival. She has received numerous awards and prizes and in 2015, she was finalist of the “Cardiff Singer of the World” Competition.
RCO Opening Night 2023: Gianandrea Noseda – Dance and Rhythm
In this dazzling open-air concert, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra plays beloved classics and pleasant surprises. The season opening of the Concertgebouworkest will take place at the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam. Gianandrea Noseda conducts a festive program full of dance and rhythm, with famous pieces such as Ravel‘s Bolero and the Moldau by Smetana and some special surprises, including a world premiere.
New Year‘s Eve Concert 1983
Herbert von Karajan leads the Berliner Philharmoniker in a concert program exploring the idea of homeland. Rossini’s William Tell tells the story of the legendary folk hero whose love for his son led him to confront the menacing Hapsburg invaders. The opera’s overture counts among classical music’s greatest hits. Next Smetana’s unforgettable melodies bring the beautiful Bohemian countryside near the banks of the Moldau river to life in his symphonic cycle “My Homeland” (Má vlast). Finnish composer Jean Sibelius’s Valse triste was originally written as incidental music for his brother-in-law’s play Kuolema (Death). The famed maestro presents an exquisite reading of these works before closing the program with two typically brilliant waltzes by the great Austrian waltz-master Johann Strauss: Delirien and the Overture to Der Zigeunerbaron.